


Bittersweet Chocolate

by Soralith



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Chocolate, Gen, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Slight Hurt/Comfort, Sora's Zine Pieces, Valentine's Day, Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29672934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soralith/pseuds/Soralith
Summary: Oikawa laments over his lack of a girlfriend on Valentine's Day and spends some time talking with Iwaizumi about the reasons why.(First of two zine pieces I wrote for Connect: A HQ Valentine's Day Zine!)
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru
Kudos: 6





	Bittersweet Chocolate

“Iwaaa-chan. Nobody cares about me!” 

Iwaizumi glanced up bemusedly as a stream of chocolate boxes suddenly rained down onto the desk next to him. The colorful boxes swamped the desk, and a series of dull thuds sounded as several of the larger boxes fell to the wooden floor below. Iwaizumi gazed rather resignedly at the large pile for several moments, before he slowly reached down and plucked one of the boxes off the floor. 

Hm. Chocolate truffles. And in 3 different flavors, too. 

Oikawa’s fangirls were really upping their game this year, Iwaizumi mused, flipping the box over in his hands as he studied the small pictures included on the back. It was a welcoming sight: Iwaizumi definitely hadn’t been looking forward to helping Oikawa eat through 25 boxes of the same store bought milk chocolates again.

“...you dropped something, Kusokawa,” Iwaizumi quipped, as he offered the box up to the disgruntled teen. Oikawa accepted the box without comment, tossing it up onto the pile before he dropped himself down heavily onto the seat next to Iwaizumi. The ace raised his eyebrows as Oikawa scowled at the chocolate in front of him, his normally cheery expression replaced by a grumpy one.

“What’s up with you? Don’t you normally love Valentine’s Day?” 

Oikawa responded with a small grunt, making Iwaizumi give the setter another odd glance. “And I don’t know what you mean by ‘nobody cares for me’- who gave you all of these chocolates then?” 

Oikawa gave a deep sigh as he propped his head upon his arms, looking oddly pensive as he stared down at the brightly colored pile in front of him.

“I mean, of course people like me- who wouldn’t?” Oikawa declared, ignoring the pointed look Iwaizumi threw his way, “but nobody  _ really  _ cares about me. Not… not in the way that I’d want.” Oikawa flicked at one of the packages moodily, accidentally knocking over a few more of the chocolate boxes in the process. 

The rather gloomy tone of Oikawa’s voice surprised Iwaizumi, and a flash of concern crossed the ace’s eyes as he glanced over at the despondent setter, who was now half-heartedly picking up the boxes that had fallen to the floor.

“I mean, you  _ did  _ have a girlfriend before. She cared about you.” 

Oikawa threw Iwaizumi an unamused look from under the table. “I’m well aware, Iwa-chan. Yuki was my first and only.” 

Oikawa sighed deeply as he stood and dumped the chocolate boxes back onto the table, before sitting back down in his chair. “But even  _ she _ didn’t care for me that much. I mean, she left me, didn’t she?” 

Iwaizumi shrugged, propping his head up on one arm as he turned his body toward Oikawa. “She did,” Iwaizumi admitted, “but you also weren’t exactly boyfriend of the year either, ‘kawa.” 

Oikawa crossed his arms, looking a little affronted at Iwaizumi’s words. “I was an excellent boyfriend, thank you very much. Well, at least until Yuki left me.” 

Iwaizumi snorted softly as he gave Oikawa another pointed look. “Really, now? Do tell.” 

Oikawa paused, clearly taken aback by Iwaizumi’s sarcastic tone. “Iwa-chan?” 

Iwaizumi sighed softly as he pushed himself up, leaning against the back of his chair as he regarded Oikawa. “Do you know  _ why _ Yuki left you?” 

Oikawa shrugged, an uncertain look starting to creep up onto his face. 

“Tell me, just how much time did you  _ really _ spend with Yuki, especially in the last few months before she left you?” 

“I… we… texted?” Iwaizumi pursed his lips, before he reached forward and firmly flicked Oikawa’s forehead. 

How was it that someone as charismatic and outgoing as Oikawa could be so incompetent when it came to maintaining interpersonal relationships?

“Ow! Rude, Iwa-chan! I’m already hurting and yet here you are, hurting me more!” Oikawa pulled his face into an exaggerated pout as he rubbed at his forehead with one hand, grabbing a box of chocolates and tossing it at the ace with the other. Iwaizumi caught the box with ease, casually ripping the neat wrapping paper from the box and popping one of the chocolates into his mouth as Oikawa gave an indignant huff.

“Do you really not see the problem with your response though, Kusokawa?” 

Oikawa shrugged again, shifting slightly in his seat as he tried in vain to defend himself. “Well, I was busy! We were getting ready for National Qualifiers, and I already told Yuki that I wouldn’t have time to hang out after school anymore.” 

Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows again as he popped another chocolate into his mouth. “Mhm. But did you actually  _ try  _ to make time for her? Was devoting time and attention to your girlfriend even one of your top 5 priorities?” 

Oikawa froze at Iwaizumi’s words, the setter’s face falling as the weight of Iwaizumi’s words finally struck true. 

“From your face, I guess not.” 

Oikawa shook his head slightly, refusing to meet Iwaizumi’s steady gaze as he fiddled with one of the many boxes in front of him. 

“I… I wasn’t really the best boyfriend, was I?” Oikawa’s voice was soft, and held a naive vulnerability that pulled at the ace’s heart. Iwaizumi simply shook his head in response, offering the setter a sympathetic look.    
  
“No, not really. You’re devoted to volleyball, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Toru, but it does put a strain on other parts of your life.” 

Oikawa sighed softly, his fingers accidentally tearing the brightly patterned paper on the small chocolate box. He gazed down blankly at his hands, before he pushed the box away, cheeks flushed a faint pink. “Hajime, tell me. Am I…  _ bad  _ with people?” 

Iwaizumi blinked at Oikawa, his hand pausing midair from its route to bring another chocolate to the ace’s mouth. “Bad? No, I wouldn’t say so.”

Oikawa’s face creased as he frowned, his eyebrows furrowing deeply as he finally looked back up at Iwaizumi. “I know I messed up in middle school, with Tobio-kun, but… I thought I’d gotten better. The more I think about it though… the other 1st and 2nd years seem to always go to you first, before coming to me. Even Kunimi and Kindaichi turn to you when they need help.  _ I’m  _ the captain- shouldn’t  _ I  _ be the one everyone goes to for help?” 

Iwaizumi bit his lip as he slowly reached over, placing one hand on Oikawa’s shoulder as the setter clenched his fists. 

“Toru…” Oikawa sighed then, and pulled himself away from Iwaizumi. The setter smacked at the torn chocolate box in front of him, making the package fall sadly to the ground, before he leaned back in his chair and threw Iwaizumi a bitter smile.

“Some leader I turned out to be. Couldn’t even be the senpai my kouhai needed.” 

“Toru-” 

“I mean, here I am, leading all of these girls on when you and I both know that I’m far too devoted to volleyball to properly pay attention to them. What kind of person does that?”   
“Toru, I-”

“All these stupid chocolate boxes- none of them mean anything even remotely close to true affection. And I know that the only reason those girls follow me around is for my looks and-”

“TORU! Oi, listen to me, you idiot!” Oikawa flinched as Iwaizumi suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the setter by his shoulders. 

“Please, stop beating yourself down like this.” Iwaizumi could feel himself gripping Oikawa’s shoulders tighter as his emotions took control, but the setter didn’t protest, his eyes instead staring straight at Iwaizumi through a mixture of uncertainty and alarm. 

“You’re  _ not _ awful. Far from it.” 

A shadow crossed over Oikawa’s face then, and the setter tore his gaze away from Iwaizumi’s as he stared down at the floor. “Tell me, then. Prove to me that I’m not.” 

Iwaizumi loosened his grip on Oikawa’s shoulders as he gazed down at the setter. He’d seen Oikawa through all sorts of ups and downs throughout their lives, but it always hurt him most to see his best friend in such an uncertain state: so fragile and unsure in his own abilities that he couldn’t see the leader he’d become. 

“Kusokawa, do you even know just  _ how _ many people you’ve inspired?” Oikawa shrugged, biting his lip as he pulled his knees up to his chest.

“Look at Kunimi, Kindaichi, Watari, even Makki and Mattsun. Hell, look at Takeru, and all of the little ones at his volleyball class. Every single one of them looks up to you, Oikawa, even if none of them say it out loud.” Some of the shadows cleared from Oikawa’s eyes, though the setter merely shrugged again in response to Iwaizumi’s words. 

“Whenever you encourage us, whenever you tell us that you trust us, it motivates us all to work harder. Because we know that you’re there, Toru. We know that even if we mess up, that you’re there to help us stay together, and come out stronger. The team knows just how vital you are, and relies on you to make sure that we don’t fall apart.” Oikawa glanced up, only to blink surprisedly as a faint shade of pink dusted Iwaizumi’s cheeks. 

“... and you’re really important to me, too. I trust you, and I know you’ll always be there to pick me up when I need it.” 

The ghost of a smile crossed Oikawa’s face at Iwaizumi’s words.

“Yes, you’re a little clueless when it comes to figuring out just how much you need to prioritize volleyball, but that doesn’t make you completely socially inept. And as much as you make me want to smack you at times for your personality- don’t you dare say anything, Kusokawa,” Iwaizumi warned, as Oikawa opened his mouth. The setter snapped it closed, his lips pulling into a pout, though Iwaizumi could see the hint of a mischievous sparkle in Oikawa’s eyes.

“You still make a good senpai. Kageyama-kun still respects you, doesn’t he? Even after everything, he still respects you, and looks up to you. That says a lot about your influence.” 

“So don’t call yourself awful, Toru. Not when you’re anything but.” 

Oikawa was silent as he turned towards Iwaizumi, shifting his entire body around to face the ace directly. The two locked eyes, and neither teen said a word for several long moments. Finally, a tiny, but genuine smile grew on Oikawa’s face as he spoke. “Thank you, Hajime.” 

Iwaizumi simply nodded, reaching back over to his desk to grab the box of chocolate, and offering it over to Oikawa. The setter took a piece, a far more relaxed and cheerful expression on his face as he popped it into his mouth.

“I’m glad I came to talk to you, Iwa-chan. After all, you’re the smartest person I know! Always so ready to help me out with any of my problems, whenever I need you!” 

Iwaizumi hadn’t quite planned on throwing the now empty box of chocolates at Oikawa’s head, but before he knew it, the colorful box had flown out of his hand, in a direct trajectory to the setter’s head. A bulls-eye, if you would, honed from years of practice.

“Iwa-chaaaan! So rude!” 


End file.
